An Auburn College junior who disappeared whereas touring with household in Japan has been discovered lifeless … bringing a devastating finish to a week-long search effort.
James “Weston” Higginbotham — a 20-year-old biosystems engineering pupil — was discovered by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous space outdoors Kyoto, in accordance with a Fb submit by his dad and mom Saturday.
“Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased,” they wrote … including, “The grief we feel is impossible to put into words.”
Weston vanished Might 29, and authorities traced his final identified actions to Kyoto’s Yamashina space … the place investigators believed he could have gone mountain climbing earlier than shedding contact.
Earlier than he disappeared, Weston and his mom had a disagreement over her use of ChatGPT to assist plan the household’s journey, in accordance with his dad and mom.
His disappearance sparked a large-scale search involving native authorities, rescue crews, volunteers and relations … whereas hundreds of individuals throughout the US and Japan shared his story on-line in hopes of serving to carry him residence.
Of their assertion, Weston’s dad and mom thanked the numerous supporters who prayed for his or her household and assisted in search efforts, saying the outpouring of assist helped carry them by “the darkest days of our lives.”
A reason for dying has not been launched, and officers haven’t publicly disclosed extra particulars surrounding the circumstances of his dying.
